Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHigh radon around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: 29% of homes tested in the area exceed 200 Bq/m³
Wildfire is a moderate presence around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: 2.2% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, 0.05% a year, short of the band that counts against Risk. Seismic risk runs low: $0.007 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Hazard risk gives Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary a grade of C+; its wildfire band pulls it down.
What stands out about Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s hazards
Four national sources, each read for Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: earthquakes, radon, past fires and flood studies.
What Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: C+
Two inputs always count for Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary, earthquakes and radon; the third, wildfire, counts only against a town.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Small fires and grass fires are largely missing from the national burned-area record.
Some fire around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: 2.2% of the land within 25 km since 1986, 0.2% within 5 km
Past fire around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s homes, from the national burned-area record, with the fuel within 5 km.
The yearly burn rate around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary is 0.05%, above 0.000% for the typical Canadian town but under the high band.
Forest thickens with distance from Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: 67% of the land within 5 km, 72% within 25 km.
Shares of land within 5 and 25 km of populated blocks: burned at least once in 1986–2025 (CWFIS burned-area composite), forest fuel and grass (fire behaviour fuel types, 2026, 250 m grid).
Burn rate a year, towns in British Columbia · highest of 256
At 0.05% a year, Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary ranks 68th of the 256 towns in British Columbia; Oliver leads at 0.98%.
Each bar: the yearly average share of land within 25 km of a town’s homes that burned, 1986–2025 (CWFIS); the seven highest towns of 2,500 people or more.
Only 5.4% of Canada’s 2,610 towns share the moderate band with Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary, and 2.1% sit above it.
Bands of the yearly burn rate: low under 0.05%, moderate under 0.25%, high under 1%, very high 1% or more; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: National Burned Area Composite 1986–2025 and fire behaviour fuel types (2026), Natural Resources Canada. Measured within 25 km and 5 km of each populated dissemination area; past fire, not a forecast.
Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary is on the flood map inventory: 1 study, by Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
What Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists for Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: who studied flooding and where to see their maps.
A 1990 study by Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy covers Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary, and its map, not the inventory, shows the zones.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Creek: Beaver Falls to Meadows Floodplain Mapping (including Archibald and Marsh creeks) | Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy | 1990 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Its flood study puts Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary with 76% of towns in British Columbia; Canada’s share is 58%.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood is shown here, never graded: a study says where a map exists, not how many of Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s homes stand in a flood zone.
The inventory’s own caution (NRCan): “The Canada Flood Map (CFM) does not include every flood hazard map in Canada and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. It should not be relied upon as the official source of flood mapping information. Furthermore, if a map appears to be missing, this does not necessarily mean that the area has never been mapped. For the official version of a map, updated information, or confirmation of applicable regulations, please contact the local authority responsible for flood mapping.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Little shaking expected in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: $0.007 a year per $1,000
Expected yearly building losses from earthquakes, from Natural Resources Canada’s model.
0.2 times the typical $0.030: Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s $0.007 is low for Canada.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
At $0.007, Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary is below the typical town in British Columbia ($0.36); Duncan is highest at $1.33.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Toward the quiet end of Canada’s range: 88% of its 2,611 towns sit above Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary.
Each column: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more in that range of yearly loss per $1,000 (NRCan, 2022).
The model counts damage to Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s buildings and their occupants from shaking only: not liquefaction, landslides, tsunami or fires after a quake.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon runs high around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary: 29% of tested homes over the guideline
Long-term radon tests in homes across the survey area, against Health Canada’s guideline. · Shared with the rest of the Kootenay/Boundary health region: radon tests
Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s area, at 29%, is above the 6.6% of the typical Canadian town, so testing is worth more here than most places.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s area, at 29%, is above the median in British Columbia (1.8%), and 7.3% of its tests passed 600 Bq/m³.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Few of Canada’s 2,611 towns (3.1%) share the 20–30% band with Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary, and 1.5% sit above it.
Each bar: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more whose survey area had that share of tests over 200 Bq/m³.
The share describes the area, not a house: in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary as anywhere, test to be sure.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Weather and fire alerts for Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary; Alert Ready carries the urgent ones to phones, radio and TV.
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | Severe weather is happening or about to: act now. |
| Watch | Conditions favour severe weather: be ready. |
| Advisory | Weather that is less severe but could disrupt the day. |
| Special weather statement | Unusual weather worth knowing about. |
| Special air quality statement | Poor air, often wildfire smoke. |
Smoke and fire warnings for Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary come through Environment Canada and Alert Ready; the fire map is CWFIS’s.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s neighbours compare on hazards
Wildfire band, earthquake risk, radon and flood studies for each place nearby.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary | Moderate | $0.007 | 29% | Yes |
| Fruitvale 2,068 · 1.5 km | Moderate | $0.010 | 29% | Yes |
| Montrose 1,072 · 5.1 km | Moderate | $0.006 | 29% | None listed |
| Trail 8,539 · 12 km | Moderate | $0.008 | 29% | None listed |
| Warfield 1,729 · 16 km | Moderate | $0.011 | 29% | None listed |
| Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary 1,432 · 16 km | Moderate | $0.008 | 29% | None listed |
Electoral Area B (Lower Columbia-Old-Glory), Kootenay Boundary burns a little more than Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary, in the same moderate band (moderate here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary faces
What to do about the hazards Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Test for three months in winter.
- Over 200 Bq/m³: fix it.
- Kits are cheap; pros test too.
- Never drive through floodwater.
- Move papers and medicines upstairs.
- Ask whether your street is mapped.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- How close is the forest edge?
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary floods.
- Earthquakes are modelled. NRCan models what earthquakes would cost buildings each year on average, subdivision by subdivision; Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s figure is its subdivision’s.
- Wildfire counts one way. Wildfire is read from the national burned-area record around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s homes since 1986, a history of fire that may lower Risk but never raises it.
- Radon is a survey. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary sits in.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary
Is Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 2.2% of the land around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary since 1986 (last in 2025); at moderate, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
Is radon a problem in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary?
Around Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary, 109 survey homes were tested and 29% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
How is Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s Hazard risk grade is C+, built on earthquakes and radon with a one-sided wildfire input.
Does Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary flood?
Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
How big is the earthquake risk in Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary?
In NRCan’s seismic model, Electoral Area A, Kootenay Boundary’s buildings lose $0.007 per $1,000 of value in an average year.
Seismic risk: Natural Resources Canada. Radon: Health Canada. Wildfire: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Flood studies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Sources: NRCan, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model 2022 · Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes · CWFIS, National Burned Area Composite and FBP fuel types · NRCan, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).